Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A trail from the train station leads along Via Nicolò Cuneo and up countless steps to the
church of
San Rocco di Camogli
(follow the two red dots). From here the path continues 3km
to the clifftop
batterie
, a WW2 German anti-aircraft gun emplacement.
Sleeping
Delve down the lanes away from the water to escape the lunchtime crowd and search for
some of the town's extra-crunchy focaccia. The local accommodation rewards those look-
ing for a splurge.
Hotel Cenobio dei Dogi
( 0185 72 41;
www.cenobio.com
; Via Cuneo 34; s/s €180/290; )
Welcome to Riviera
luxury. The Cenobio's name means 'gathering place of the doges', and yes, the Genovese
dukes used to holiday here eons ago - sensible souls! Choose from one of 105 refined
rooms that still manage to feel intimate.
HOTEL
€€€
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE
BREAKING FOCACCIA WITH THE LOCALS
Spend a week breaking bread in the bars and bakeries of the Ligurian coast and you'll quickly ascer-
tain that no two focaccias are alike. The classic focaccia, called
'alla genovese
', is a simple oven-
baked flat-bread made with flour, yeast, water, salt and oil (and topped with salt, olive oil and some-
times rosemary), but various regional variations crop up only a short train ride away. To the east, the
galletta di Camogli
from the town of Camogli is a crisp focaccia more akin to a biscuit, which was
supposedly invented for the town's sailors to take on long sailing voyages. In nearby Recco, the deli-
cious
focaccia col formaggio
spreads mild creamy cheese (usually
crescenza
) between two thin slices
of bread made without yeast. It traces its roots back to the Saracen invasions of the Early Middle
Ages. San Remo, on the Riviera di Ponente, has concocted
sardenara
, a pizza-like focaccia with a
wheat-flour base topped with tomatoes, onions, capers and - as the name implies - sardines. Inland, in
the Valle Stura,
focaccine revzora
is a polenta-like bread made with cornmeal in a wood-burning
oven.
Information
Tourist Office
(
www.camogli.it
;
Via XX Settembre 33; 9am-12.30pm & 3.30-6pm Mon-Sat, to 1pm
Sun)
Has a list of diving schools and boat-rental operators.
Getting There & Away
